DISTRESS SIGNALS

AND DISTRESS
TRAFFIC
By
J. KAPITI
 Introduction

• Within the GMDSS system, all maritime distress and safety communications are
based on radio communication using terrestrial links on the VHF, MF and HF
bands, and via satellites.
• Ships must be able to transmit ship-to-shore alerts to RCC 's via coast radio
stations or Coast Earth Stations(CES).
• A ship can make use of the following 3 methods to transmit a distress alert:
1.) DSC (Digital Selective Calling) on the VHF/MF and HF bands.
2.) Inmarsat -B/C or Fleet F77
3.) EPIRB
 Introduction
• The International SOLAS (Safety of Lives at Sea) Convention of 1974 was
adapted to the GMDSS system in 1988 (SOLAS 1988) and brought into effect on
February 1, 1992.
• The GMDSS system was launched as a programme commencing on February 1,
1992, and reaching complete implementation on February 1, 1999.
• GMDSS regulations apply to all passenger vessels sailing in international waters
and to all cargo vessels over 300 gr.t. sailing in international waters.
 Introduction
• Categories of vessels sailing in national waters such as freighters under 300 gr.t.
and fishing vessels are exempted from the 1988 SOLAS Convention as applied to
GMDSS.
• In practice, this means that these categories of vessels (non-convention vessels)
are at liberty to use the frequencies and procedures described in SOLAS 1974
until new regulations have been developed and implemented at a national level.
• The distress and safety procedures for radiotelephony (SOLAS 1974) will be dealt
with in this and the following chapters.
 General regulations
• The procedures described in this chapter are compulsory for the maritime mobile
service and for correspondence between ships, aircraft and survival craft stations.
• No regulations in the instruction manual shall prevent a coast station in
extraordinary circumstances, from using any means available to give assistance to
a distressed mobile station.
• Distress signals and distress messages must only be transmitted on the direct
orders of the master or the officer in charge.
• Distress signals and distress messages must be
 General regulations
• Question what comes to mind when you hear a distress signal/ mayday signal?
• The distress signal indicates that a ship, aircraft or other vehicle is threatened by
grave and imminent danger and requests immediate assistance.
 General regulations
• Distress signals and distress messages must be transmitted on the following
frequencies designated for distress, urgency and safety communications on
radiotelephony:
• 156.8 MHz- channel16
• 2182 kHz 8291 kHz
• 4125kHz 6215kHz
• 12290 kHz 16420 kHz
• The two most commonly used are VHF channel 16 and MF 2182 kHz.
• In distress situations, speech and radiotelephony must be as slow and clear as
possible.
• If language problems should occur, the phonetic alphabet and the "International
Signal book 1969" can be used.
 The international distress and calling
frequency 2182 kHz
• The 2182 kHz frequency is the international radiotelephony distress frequency,
and shall be used for this purpose by ship stations, aeromobile stations and
survivor craft stations working on the MF frequency band.
• Otherwise, the 2182 kHz frequency can be used for calling and replying to calls.
• All coast stations open for public correspondence on MF telephony, shall keep
listening watch on 2182kHz.
• Ship stations shall, when not engaged in traffic, maintain listening watch on 2182
kHz.
 Silence periods
• To increase the safety of lives at sea, it is of vital importance that all ships make
every attempt to listen to the international distress frequency during the silence
periods.
• The silence periods are the first 3 minutes of every hour and half-hour (from xx00
hours to xx03 hours and from xx30 hours to xx33 hours).
• During these three minutes, all transmission on 2182 kHz must cease,
with the exception of distress or urgency traffic.
• Ships fitted with MF radio installations, shall keep listening watch by means
of a watch receiver in the wheel house.
 The radiotelephony alarm signal
• The radiotelephone alarm signal consists of two substantially sinusoidal audio
frequency tones transmitted alternately.
• When generated by automatic means, the radiotelephone alarm signal shall be
transmitted as continuously as possible over a period of at least30 seconds, but not
exceeding one minute.
• When generated by other means, the signal shall be transmitted as continuously as
possible for a period of approximately one minute.
• The purpose of the alarm signal is to attract the attention of a person on watch or
to actuate automatic devices sounding the alarm or activating a silenced
loudspeaker for the message which will follow.
 The distress signal - MAYDAY
• The distress call shall have absolute priority over all other transmissions.
• All stations hearing it shall immediately cease any transmission capable of
interfering with the distress traffic and shall continue to listen to the frequency
used for the emission of the distress call.
• This call shall not be addressed to a particular station, and acknowledgement of
receipt shall not be given before the distress message which follows it is sent.
• The distress call and message shall only be transmitted on the authority of the
master or the person responsible for the ship, aircraft or other vehicle carrying the
mobile station or ship-earth station.
 The distress call
The radiotelephony distress call consists of:
• The distress signal MAYDAY, spoken three times
• The words THIS IS (or DE spoken as DELTA ECHO in case of language
difficulties)
• The call sign or other identification of the mobile station in distress, spoken three
times
 The distress call
• Example
1. MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY
2. THIS IS STOLT EGRET STOLT EGRET STOLT EGRET CALLSIGN
LAP04
3. MMSI 257501000
 The distress message
The distress message consists of:
• The distress signal MAYDAY
• The name, or other identification, of the mobile station in distress
• Particulars of its position
• The nature of distress and the kind of assistance required
• Any other information which might facilitate the rescue
As a general rule, the ship shall signal its position in latitude and longitude, using
figures for degrees and minutes, together with one of the words NORTH or
SOUTH, and one of the words EAST or WEST.
 Acknowledgement of receipt of a
distress message
• Ship stations receiving a distress message from another mobile station which is,
beyond any possible doubt, in their vicinity, shall immediately acknowledge
receipt.
• However, in areas where reliable communications with one or more coast stations
are practicable, ship stations should defer this acknowledgement for a short
interval so that a coast station may acknowledge receipt.
 Acknowledgement of receipt of a
distress message
• In telephony, acknowledgement of the receipt of a distress message shall be given
in the following form:
• MAYDAY
• The call sign or other identification of the station sending the distress message,
spoken three times
• The word THIS IS
• The call sign or other identification of the station acknowledging receipt, spoken
three times
• The words RECEIVED MAYDAY
 Acknowledgement of receipt of a
distress message
• Any mobile station acknowledging receipt of a distress message shall, on the order
of the master or person responsible for the ship, aircraft or other vehicle, transmit
the following information as soon as possible:
• Its name
• Its position
• The speed at which it is proceeding towards the mobile station in distress, and the
approximate time it will take to reach it.
• Additionally, if the position of the ship in distress appears doubtful, ship stations
should also transmit, when available, the true bearing of the ship in distress.
 Distress traffic
• In distress traffic, the distress signal (MAYDAY) shall be sent before the call and
at the beginning of the preamble of any telegram.
• The station in distress or the station in control of distress traffic may impose
silence either on all maritime mobile service stations in the same area,
• or on any stations which interfere with the distress traffic.
Example:
• MAYDAY
• ALL STATIONS
• SEELONCE MAYDAY
• Or if a mobile station then include call sign of your station
 Distress traffic
indicating that normal working conditions can be resumed:
• MAYDAY
• ALL STATIONS, sent three times
• THIS IS
• the call sign or other identification of the station sending the message
• the time the message was submitted
• the name and call sign of the mobile station which was in distress
• the words SEELONCE FEENEE
 Transmission of a distress message
by a station not itself in distress
Any mobile station, or land station learning that a mobile station is in
distress, shall transmit distress messages in any of the following cases:
• when the station in distress is not itself in a position to transmit the
distress message
• when the master or person responsible for the ship, aircraft or other
vehicle not in distress, or the person responsible for the land station,
considers that further help is necessary
• when an unacknowledged distress message is heard, and one is not in
a position to render assistance.
 Mayday relay procedure
• MAYDAY RELAY, spoken three times;
• ALL STATIONS or coast station name, as appropriate, spoken three times;
• the words THIS IS; the name of the relaying station, spoken three times;
• the call sign or other identification of the relaying station;
• the MMSI (if the initial alert has been sent by DSC) of the relaying station
• the vessel not in distress
• This call shall be followed by a distress message which shall, as far as possible,
repeat the information contained in the original distress alert or distress message.
Thank you